


Wheels

by debwalsh



Series: Bingo-Bingo [24]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bikers, M/M, Meet-Cute, Star Spangled Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 12:55:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20507351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/debwalsh/pseuds/debwalsh
Summary: Teacher Steve Rogers is ready to settle into a lounger and enjoy his neighbor Natasha’s pool when he finds himself staring at the most beautiful man he’d ever seen already lounging with intent.A Giftfic for Noukian, and a fill for my Star Spangled Bingo card - C5, Biker AU.





	Wheels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Noukian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noukian/gifts).

> In the past year, I’ve gotten hooked on writing prompts, and my friends enable me by choosing from the various bingo cards I’ve collected. I love finding new spins on a trope or idea, and it brings me immense pleasure and satisfaction to find new ways to bring these idiots together.
> 
> Hope you agree! Oh, and much more coming!

Living next to Natasha Romanoff had its perks.Carpooling in bad weather. Sharing a gallon (or two) of Elderberry Farm’s homemade ice cream after a bad date or a tough breakup, usually Steve’s.Quiet nights on the porch swing watching the fireflies swarm and the moon cast silvery light to scatter through the leaves of the big old oak tree in Able Stump’s front yard.

Nat’s pool and the key she gave to Steve so he could use it whenever he liked.

Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff had hit it off the minute Steve moved into the neighborhood. The fact they were both teachers at the local high school was gravy, and had given their nascent friendship more and more opportunities to grow.Five years later, Steve couldn’t imagine his life without Nat.Hell, if he wasn’t gay, he thought he might like to marry her.Well, the gay part got in the way, as did her disaster of a current boyfriend, Clint.But the only thing you could do with Clint was love him, and keep both coffee and bandages in equal supply.He was surprisingly perfect for Nat, and had even been accepted by her judgy cat, Liho.

Nat was out of town for a couple of weeks with Clint and Liho, which meant that Steve watched over the place, brought in the mail, and made the rounds every so often.And on a hot day in June, that meant taking advantage of that amazing invention, the in-ground pool.

So when he unlatched the gate that separated their properties and came into the pool enclosure, he was shocked to find a truly stacked specimen sunning himself on one of Nat’s loungers.

Stunned might also be a good term.

Possibly in love at first sight might be another.

In lust? Oh yes. Embarrassed to be wearing nothing but swim trunks while looking at the sexiest man he’d ever seen?

You betcha. But he was at least glad he’d forgone the Speedo.Because, yeah.TMI.

And speaking of information ... “Um, who are you and why are you here?”

“Hey, you must be Steve, right?Nat told me you’d be around,” Sexy Handsome greeted easily, swinging his legs over the lounger to stand in one fluid motion.Steve realized his mouth was still hanging open when Sexy Handsome thrust his right hand out to him with a grin. “Name’s Bucky.Nat told you I was coming, right?”Bucky’s grin faded as Steve continued to stare at him, mouth hanging open.“You are Steve, right?”

“Um, yeah, sorry,” Steve shook himself out of his Bucky-induced fugue state.He licked his lips and glanced down at the hand and awkwardly grasped it, pumping it once.“And no, Nat never said a word.How do you know her?”

“Well, isn’t that special,” Bucky said, still grasping Steve’s hand and turning it over like he wasexamining it. “She’s my sister.Foster.Folks died in a car accident when I was thirteen.We met in a group home when I went into the system.She adopted me when no one else would.We stuck together after that until we aged out, and then we got a place together.Helped each other get our adult on, y’know?”

“I’ve known Nat five years, and she’s never mentioned you.”

“Hah, I find that hard to believe.Oh.James.”

“Her brother James.”

“Yeah. She hates the name Bucky, won’t use it. I hate the name James, don’t answer to it.”

“Now that sounds like Nat.And yeah, I have heard about you.But she didn’t say you were coming for a visit while she and Clint are out of town.”

“Didn’t actually tell her.She doesn’t know about this yet,” he answered, lifting his left elbow like a wing and shrugging at the same time.That seemed a complicated maneuver to Steve’s Bucky-addled brain, but Bucky carried it off smoothly.

It was then that Steve noticed that Bucky’s upper left arm was encased in a cast, while the lower arm was wrapped in what looked like gauze and a synthetic sleeve.He nodded toward the crown of Bucky’s shoulder.“Looks rough.”

“Took a spill on my bike in a competition coupla weeks ago.Blew out the rotocuff, and broke the humerus clean through. Lucky it didn’t break right through the skin.Road burn was bad enough - had to get a graft for the worst of it.Got a pin holding me together while I heal.Finally got sprung from rehab, figured I’d spend my convalescence lounging by my sister’s pool.”

Steve thought that the injuries didn’t detract from Bucky’s beauty in the least.He felt his fingers itching for his drawing tablet - the masterpieces he could paint with this face as his muse!But wait, he was still talking, and it took a moment for Steve’s brain to catch up.Seriously, he must look like the world’s dumbest gay boy.

“Um, and you didn’t tell her in advance because?”

“Judgment, my friend.Judgment. There is nothing like Nat in full judgment mode.”

“Yeah, that makes perfect sense,” Steve agreed with a shudder.“But she and Clint are gone for the next two weeks.What’re you gonna do with yourself?”

And oh, did Steve realize how suggestive that sounded. After the words left his mouth.After the eyebrow lift and the sexy smirk on Bucky’s face.And just as the blush hit Steve like a freight train, burning across his cheeks and flaming down his neck to stain his chest and southward.Bucky’s eyes flicked downward, the tip of his tongue sliding along the curve of his plump lower lip.

Steve’s brain flatlined.

“Um ...”

“You volunteerin’?”

“Um ...”

“Seriously, could use a friend while I’m recovering.If you wouldn’t mind hanging out with a cripple,” Bucky grinned, lifting the left arm again and waving it like he was trying to take off.“A temporary cripple, but ...”

“You seem to be doing okay.”

“Good surgeon, great therapist.I’ll be happy when all this shit comes off, though.Sucks sitting next to a pool and not be able to indulge.”Bucky took a moment to let his eyes rake up and down Steve’s body, lingering on the board shorts that thankfully didn’t reveal too much about how much Steve was enjoying the attention.Not too much ... of course, his Irish blush more than made up for it.“I could live vicariously through you, though.If you wanna take a dip.I’ll just sit back.And watch.”

“Um ...”

The grin that had been teasing at the edges of Bucky’s lips broke free and he slapped his thigh with his right hand, bursting into a full-blown belly laugh.“God, you are too easy, punk!I hope we’re gonna be friends, ‘cos you are just too cool, Steve Rogers.C’mon, I have beer, chips, and some killer dip.Join me.”

&&&

Bucky wasn’t just pretty and sexy.He was smart, he was funny, and he was great company.The afternoon sped by, as they swapped stories about Nat and Clint, knocked back beers, snarfed chips, and shared tales of their respective careers - Steve as a high school art teacher, Bucky as a professional motorcycle racer.

“Got into bikes in high school, managed to get into the votech program.Next thing I knew, I was apprenticed to a local master mechanic, and he helped me get into the racing circuit.Been chasing it ever since.Done pretty well for myself, too.Got a corporate sponsor, a pit crew I can trust with my life, a coupla titles, and a damned good living.Until two months ago,” Bucky lifted his beer bottle in salute before taking a long pull.

“Yeah, but surely once everything’s healed -“

“Yeah, maybe.I dunno.I’m getting older, getting kinda tired of always chasing the circuit.Thinking maybe I’ll take some time off, see what kinda options I’ve got, y’know?”

“Huh.So you thinking of staying here?”

“Place has a lot to recommend it, don’t you think?I mean, Nat’s my sister.She’s been trying to get me to come for visit for years, but there’s never been time.Maybe it’s time I changed that.I got enough money socked away to carry me for a good long while.And ... I dunno.I’d kinda like to’ make some new friends, you know?Maybe more than friends,” he added with a oddly endearing expression. 

Steve felt a little flutter in his chest, and wondered if this was flirting. Then he had an idea.

“You said you went to votech school, apprenticed with a mechanic.How good are you?”

“Pardon?”

“How good a mechanic are you?”

“Well, I got my master certification.And I have a crew, but I always work on my bike with the team.Any enhancements, I always made sure I did ‘em myself.Why?”

Steve grinned at Bucky, feeling a certainty creep over him.“My granddad left me a 1943 Harley.It’s in crap condition, but I’ve been slowly tracking down parts and refurbishing her.I could use a hand.Maybe you’d like to help me restore her to her former glory?”

“There no shops in this town?”

“No, I have a great mechanic - he helps me track down the parts, gives me advice on what to do.I just wanted to do it myself, y’know?It’s like a family heirloom.My grandfather rode it in the war.”

“Show me.”

&&&

She was showing her age, rust spots and faded chrome, cracked leather and worn tread.Dings and scrapes - from stones or maybe even long ago bullets.But in the moment he saw her, Bucky could see what Steve saw - history and heritage, honor and sacrifice.And a future.Such a future.But that’s what he saw when he lifted his eyes from the ancient bike to the beautiful blushing man in front of him. 

From the moment Steve’d come into Nat’s pool enclosure, mouth gaping like a beached fish and color rising, Bucky had felt something surprising.Not just attraction - hell, he had his pick of willing bedmates on the circuit, and had a few he revisited whenever the races brought him back to town.And he was definitely interested - Steve was gorgeous, from that scruffy dirty blond hair to that soft looking beard, that incredible body and that ever-ready blush.He loved listening to him talk about his students, his passion for art and passing it on to the next generation.He laughed his ass off at Steve’s stories about Nat, about meeting Clint for the first time, about how much his sister’s friendship meant to him.He could get lost in the blue of his eyes and never ask for rescue.

He had no doubt that sex with Steve would be hot.But more importantly, he saw himself enjoying the morning after.And the morning after that.Enough mornings after to make up a lifetime together.And he hadn’t felt that in a very long time.

He knew Steve was gay from Nat’s tales about him.He knew from her that Steve hadn’t had the best luck in love.He didn’t know for certain that Steve was free because they hadn’t really talked relationships, and he hadn’t mentioned he was gay to Steve.He hoped that he wasn’t engaging in wishful thinking when he straightened up from examining the old Harley, and found himself staring into Steve’s eyes and saw hope looking back at him.

“Dinner,” he heard himself say, and watched as Steve’s brows scrunched together in confusion. 

“Huh?”

“Dinner.Let me take you out to dinner.I don’t know the area, so you pick.Someplace nice.Someplace you like to go.On a date.”

“A date.”

“Yeah.A date.I’m not misreading this, am I?I mean, I can’t remember the last time I’ve enjoyed spending time with someone like I have with you, today.And fuck, you are hot.And you’ve got great taste in bikes.Because seriously, I would love to help you bring her back to life.And I would really like to ...”

“Yeah?”

They’d been drifting closer together as Bucky had talked, and he felt that their rom com moment was within reach.He smiled at Steve, and Steve smiled back, a sweet smile with a hint of mischief that Bucky couldn’t wait to explore.“I really would,” he whispered, and lifted his right hand to gently cradle Steve’s chin, and leaned in.“Is this okay?”

“More than okay,” Steve breathed, closing the distance to press his lips against Bucky’s.

As first kisses go, it was sweet and chaste, and Bucky found he already liked the taste of Steve Rogers.A little sweet, a little spicy, and a whole lot of Steve.He smiled and leaned in for another kiss, this one deeper, and Steve met him halfway. He leaned in further to close the gap between them and stumbled slightly, realizing the bike was in the way. 

“Whaddya say we take this in the house - your place or mine?”

Steve moved to rest his forehead against Bucky’s, and he sighed.“How about we table this until after dinner?See where the evening takes us?‘Cos I got a feeling once we start, we won’t stop.”

Bucky smiled and nodded slightly.“Got that right.Okay.Back to neutral corners.Meet in an hour?”

“Yeah.And tomorrow?I’m introducing you to my mechanic.He’s got an opening.If you’re serious about sticking around.”

“You just keep giving me reasons.I can’t walk away from this lady, after all.”

“And me?”

“You? I gotta feeling it’s gonna be you and me ‘til the end of the line.”

“What does that even mean?” Steve asked with a chuckle that Bucky found impossibly sexy.

“It means go get ready.I can’t wait to get started.”

“With what?”

“The future.”

END

**Author's Note:**

> This was written before the #CapSeptender challenge, so I’m not going to add it to that. But definitely check out the CapSeptender collection - I will be adding to it shortly!


End file.
